Alltech Dairy Specialist Knows Cow Comfort

Carrie Muehling

Cow comfort is priority for Tom Lorenzen, dairy specialist with Alltech. Lorenzen visits dairy farms with the goal of looking for problem areas and finding solutions when it comes to the basic needs of the animals.

“Cows don’t lie,” says Lorenzen. “I look and listen to the cows.”

Lorenzen says clean water and a full feed bunk after milking are important to keeping cows happy and healthy. He took the opportunity during the 2017 World Dairy Expo to share some priorities when it comes to cow comfort, including correct free stalls, proper ventilation and adequate parlor space.

Listen to Jamie’s interview with Tom Lorenzen here: Interview with Tom Lorenzen, Alltech

2017 World Dairy Expo Photo Album

Coverage of World Dairy Expo is sponsored by Coverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by Alltech  Coverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by Hubbard Feeds
AgWired Animal, Alltech, Audio, World Dairy Expo

Bayer Invests in Youth for Future of Ag

Jamie Johansen

This week there are 100 youth delegates from 49 countries working together to generate innovative and sustainable solutions to global food security challenges and come up with concrete new ideas to drive agricultural progress across the globe. It’s a tall order for the 3rd Youth Ag Summit sponsored by Bayer, but Liam Condon, President of Bayer Crop Science, is optimistic they are up to the challenge.

“We want them to look at real problems that real farmers are facing in real areas today and come up with potential solutions…and we will support them to implement those ideas,” said Condon.

He says the goal of the summit is two-fold. First, each individual is to come up with three things that they promise they are going to implement themselves in their own homes, such as reducing food waste. Secondly, they work as a group on challenges linked to United Nations sustainable development goals and the best ideas will be supported by Bayer.

Learn more in this interview –
Interview with Liam Condon President of Bayer Crop Science

View and download photos from the event here: 2017 Youth Ag Summit Photo Album

Agribusiness, AgWired Precision, Audio, Bayer, Food, Sustainability

WMMB Focusing On Exports, Consumer Trust In Coming Year

Carrie Muehling

This year’s World Dairy Expo was the first for Chad Vincent in his role as CEO of the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board (WMMB). Vincent says the organization continues to invest checkoff dollars to drive trust, sales distribution and awareness of Wisconsin cheese and other dairy products.

He says exports and emerging markets are a priority, with a focus on Asia and North Africa. But the message to American consumers is just as important at a time when it can be difficult to tell fact from fiction.

“We want to tell the honest truth about farming and farmers and dairy. When people see it coming from the farmers and they hear the truth, it helps us deflect a lot of the misinformation that’s coming at them today and coming at them in the future.”

WMMB also shares that message with students in schools across the country through the Fuel Up To Play 60 program, in partnership with the NFL.

Listen to Jamie’s interview with Chad Vincent here: Interview with Chad Vincent, WMMB

2017 World Dairy Expo Photo Album

Coverage of World Dairy Expo is sponsored by Coverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by Alltech  Coverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by Hubbard Feeds
AgWired Animal, Animal Agriculture, Audio, World Dairy Expo

Keenan Alltech Offers Nutrition Solutions

Carrie Muehling

Visitors to the Keenan Alltech booth at the 2017 World Dairy Expo told National Sales Manager Dan Gard that they appreciate the uniformity of the mix they get when using any of Keenan’s five mixers on their farms. Gard says consistency drives performance on the farm, whether it is a small farm or one of the larger dairies in the country.

Keenan InTouch Nutritionist Eva Griffin says technology plays a big role in today’s mixing systems.

“The farmer knows exactly what to feed the cows, how much to feed and how long to mix it for. The beauty is that a lot of that is in the Cloud, as well, so behind your machine on farm is a whole nutrition support service,” says Griffin.

Griffin says the paddle mixer is a unique design that provides a gentle mixing process, protecting the structure fiber of the mix and working with nature and not against it.

Listen to Jamie’s interview with Dan Gard and Eva Griffin here: Interview with Dan Gard & Eva Griffin, Keenan Alltech

2017 World Dairy Expo Photo Album

Coverage of World Dairy Expo is sponsored by Coverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by Alltech  Coverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by Hubbard Feeds
AgWired Animal, Alltech, Audio, Nutrition, World Dairy Expo

Animal Ag Bites 10/9

Kelly Marshall

  • The Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Veterinary Medicine has released a new video discussing antiparasitic resistance in cattle, sheep, goats, and horses.
  • Alltech has donated $90,000 of its slow-release urea, Optigen, to dairy farms impacted by Hurricane Irma.  Optigen provides a high-quality source of protein to give herds energy during times of environmental or production stress.
  • The American Angus Association has hired three new team members.  JD Rosman and Ali Luety join as communications specialists and Max Steward has accepted a position as video production specialist.
  • The 2017 Advances in Animal Ag report from Animal Agriculture Alliance has just been released.  The report showcases the industry’s commitment to continuous improvement in animal care, responsible antibiotic use, environmental sustainability, and food safety.
AgWired Animal, Animal Bites

SMART Farmer Katie Roth

Cindy Zimmerman

Katie Roth and her husband TJ farm with their partners John and Luann Shea in the southwest corner of America’s Dairyland in Wisconsin where they milk Holsteins and grow all of their feedstuffs on the farm including corn, soybeans, alfalfa and wheat. In addition, she serves as one of the U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance’s (USFRA) Faces of Farming & Ranching.

Katie loves her animals and wants people to know how well dairy cows are treated on farms, which is why she spends a lot of her time on the road for USFRA talking about animal welfare.

Learn more about Katie in this edition – SMART Farmer Podcast with Katie Roth, Wisconsin dairy producer

Subscribe to the SMART Farmer podcast

Learn more about USFRA and SMART Farm

AgWired Animal, Audio, Dairy, USFRA

Youth Ag Summit Kicks Off in Brussels

Jamie Johansen

Today marks the kick-off of the 3rd edition of the Youth Ag Summit in Brussels, Belgium, with 100 bright young talents from around the world – including five from the U.S. All here to tackle one of humanity’s biggest challenges: how to feed a growing population in a more sustainable manner. Organized by Bayer, together with the two Belgian young farmers associations Groene Kring (GK) and Fédération des Jeunes Agriculteurs (FJA), the summit aims to address the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end hunger, achieve food security, and promote sustainable agriculture.

The youth delegates from 49 countries will work together to generate innovative, sustainable and actionable solutions to global food security challenges. Their mission is to come up with concrete new ideas which can drive agricultural progress across the globe and be put into practice back home.

In addition to talks designed to spark their creativity, delegates will have the opportunity to tour EU institutions and meet with European policymakers, visit one of Bayer’s innovative sustainable farming sites, and gain real-world insights into sustainability in action from companies and organizations such as Rabobank, CropTrust, Thought for Food, BioBest, International Society for Horticultural Science, VIB – Flemish Institute for Biotech, Inagro, University Ghent and Ahold Delhaize Group.

Throughout the week, delegates will work to develop “Thrive for Change Projects”; concrete ideas to help achieve the UN SDGs in their communities and countries. Following a pitch process, the strongest ideas will be selected for future funding and development by Bayer.

During the very first Summit in Calgary, Canada, attendees learned how three ideas can turn into three actions. One of Derrick Rozdeba’s, VP of Communications at Bayer Inc. Canada, “3 little things” was making the Youth Ag Summit a recurring global event. I sat down with him to learn how that goal has become a reality.

Listen to our chat here: Interview with Derrick Rozdeba, Bayer Inc.

View and download photos from the event here: 2017 Youth Ag Summit Photo Album

Agribusiness, AgWired Precision, Audio, Bayer, Food, Sustainability

Alltech Talks Mycotoxins at #WDE2017

Cindy Zimmerman

Moisture can mean mold and mycotoxins in grain but Alltech’s Mycotoxin Management Team provides solutions to help safeguard the health of animals and the quality of feed.

At World Dairy Expo this week, team nutritionist Dr. Max Hawkins was talking with dairy producers about how multiple mycotoxins in feed can impact milk production and reproduction. “The level of risk is different from farm to farm, even with the same levels of mycotoxins,” said Hawkins. “It has a lot to do with environment and animal health status.”

Hawkins has tips for producers harvesting silage to prevent the growth of mold that creates mycotoxins in this interview, and more information can be found on Alltech’s KnowMycotoxins.com website.

Audio file: Interview with Dr. Max Hawkins, Alltech

2017 World Dairy Expo Photo Album

Coverage of World Dairy Expo is sponsored by Coverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by Alltech  Coverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by Hubbard Feeds
AgWired Animal, Alltech, Audio, Dairy, Feed, World Dairy Expo

Two More USDA Nominees Get Their Hearing

Cindy Zimmerman

The Senate Agriculture Committee yesterday heard from nominees Greg Ibach to be Under Secretary of Agriculture for Marketing and Regulatory Programs and Bill Northey to be Under Secretary of Agriculture for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services.

“Both Mr. Ibach and Mr. Northey have valuable ‘boots-on-the-ground’ experience. They are both farmers,” said Committee Chairman Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS). “They know what weighs on the minds of farmers and ranchers, the challenges they face on daily basis, and the focus and drive they put into their life’s work. And, significantly, they are both dedicated public servants who have led their home state’s agriculture departments.”

Earlier this week, the full Senate approved Stephen Censky as Deputy Secretary of Agriculture, and Ted McKinney as Under Secretary of Agriculture for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs.

Here are the opening comments to the committee from Ibach and Northey Ibach/Northey Hearing Comments

AgWired Animal, AgWired Precision, Audio, USDA

Zimfo Bytes 10/6

Kelly Marshall

  • Dave Dell has joined Beck Ag as vice president for Go-To-Market Solutions. Dell has 40 years experience in agricultural sales, marketing and training, including 30 years with New Holland and, most recently, Brock Grain Systems.
  • Tractor Supply Company is continuing its partnership with National 4-H Council by hosting their semi-annual Paper Clover fundraiser for 4-H students now through October 15, 2017.  Donations made during checkout will be used to send kids to camps, conferences, and programs.
  • MGEX, a Designated Contract Market and Derivatives Clearing Organization, has surpassed the previous September monthly record of 162,596 contracts set in 2002 with 166,028 contracts.
  • National Agriculture in the Classroom Organization has selected The Bernhardt Consulting Co. to lead its fund development efforts. Bernhardt Consulting Co. has more than 25 years experience helping nonprofit and for-profit organizations be more successful.
  • Paige Dye has joined the Agri-Pulse Communications Inc. team in the new position of Assistant Marketing Manager.  Dye is a recent graduate of the University of Missouri – Columbia with dual degrees in Strategic Communication and Psychology and minors in Business and Multicultural Studies.
  • DTN has acquired Wilkens Weather Technologies, a Houston-based weather company, from Rockwell Collins, Inc.
  • Alltech is asking American farmers, ranchers, and producers to submit farm photographs online by November 6, 2017 for this year’s #PicMeONE18Contest.  Finalist’s work will be published to Alltech’s Facebook page and the winner will receive a trip to ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference in Lexington, Kentucky, May 20-23, 2018.
Zimfo Bytes